Dimapur, June 6 (EMN): The Catholic community of Holy Cross has taken strong exception to what it alleged was the use of the church premises as well as church personnel “as a propaganda tool for political mileage.”
Fr. PJ Thomas, chairman of the Holy Cross Church Council, issued a press release on Tuesday noting a photograph showing BJP leaders and a Catholic nun.
“The Catholic community of Holy Cross Church was happy with the visit of Ms. Yogita Singh, the national secretary of BJMM, in charge of Nagaland,” the press release stated.
“But we are dismayed at the manner in which the BJP leadership of Nagaland used the occasion by using a casual photograph with a Catholic Nun in religious habit published in local dailies on 4th June 2017 for public consumption.”
The press release stated that the content of the article was on the executive meeting of the state BJMM which was held elsewhere in Dimapur.
“So we fail to understand why a photograph of this nature should be part of such a report. We feel that the state BJP has abused our hospitality to take political mileage out of it. By publishing the photograph of a nun in religious habit along with the BJP members has sent wrong signal to the Christians of Nagaland that the Catholic church of Nagaland is endorsing the policies of BJP,” the press release stated. It stated that the Catholic church is not for or against any political party.
“Therefore the Catholic community of Holy Cross take strong exception to using the church premises as well as church personnel as a propaganda tool for political mileage. So we ask the BJP or any other political party leadership in Nagaland to keep priests and nuns out of political dimension,” the press release added.
